Nei'hin: Arbitrator's Beginnings
by seraphon
Summary: Brother of Setg from my other story "Hard & Fast", has decided to strike out on his own. I do not own the alien/predator characters copyright etc
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: Nei'hin is the twin brother of Setg'Thwei from the story "Hard & Fast". This begins from where Nei'hin chooses to leave his brother._

Nei'hin Setg'Thwei sat in the cockpit, brooding in the dark. His mind was clouded by thoughts of his pale twin brother Setg'Thwei and his recent choice of mate, a human named Carly which he also took a fancy to. He thought about the way she looked at Setg… the way her head tilted, how her eyes flashed brightly and her perfect pouty lips. He purred at the thought of her… how he would touch her smooth skin…. About running his hands all over her body and up to her face and looking in to her eyes… He closed his eyes to focus more on her face and instead saw his brother, the rage in his eyes. Nei'hin opened his eyes and cursed loudly. The more he swore the angrier he became. _ Dam these women and their hold over him. Their bewitching eyes, their sensuous skin….._ Punching a nearby bulkhead, he inhaled deeply to soothe his growing rage and desire but to no effect. He needed an outlet…. He needed battle.

As he settled into his warm ups, he focused his anger and rage into the stretches and started to let go. He went through the motions of each kata, dances of death, the feeling growing ecstatic. Before he knew it, he was armed with his twin dueling blades, twirling and slashing empty air. The weapons themselves were unusual for a Yuatja, requiring to be held in both hands rather than wrist mounted but could join together to become one blade if the strength was needed. The humans that gifted them to him called them butterfly blades; thin blades that balanced on the fine edge of life and death. As he exercised further, increasing the complexity of the dance, the blades started to sing as they cut through the air. Nei'hin loved the sounds they made… like whispers to a lover. The blades sliced and sang and after a while Nei'hin slowly came to a halt. The sweat beading off his dark skin dripping onto the floor, panting hard and breathing in deeply, feeling purified. Nei'hin closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling, free… alive… As he showered, he watched the water travel down his charcoal black skin following the paths of the scars and the tattoos that decorated his skin. He loved his tattoos… he did not care that they were barely visible on his skin … all that mattered to him was the rush it made him feel when he looked at himself; the feeling of power… looking in the mirror he felt a surge of adrenalin surge through him. He was pumped and ready to start his new life as Arbitrator.

He walked back to the cockpit and went through the clan's list of criminals, the list appeared endless… He paused and thought about what he felt capable of…. And today he felt like a challenge. Filtering through the list, he sought a challenge with multiple opponents with a risk factor… the computer found one…. An illegal hunting group operating from a nearby solar system… Looking through the details he noted there were 4 known bad bloods that also operated a slave trade. The challenge looked promising; smiling to himself as he locked the co-ordinates into his computer. He then sent an authority request to his elders to inform them of the chosen quest for their approvals.

Nei'hin went through the ship, prepping it for his quest; checking through logs and error reports. Everything was satisfactory. He waited until the computer informed him of the elder's agreement to proceed with the quest. Activating the ship's engine, Nei'hin launched into space. He was now alone.

_Alone_… the feeling was alien to him. He was always with the clan, even on hunts or at the least with his twin. They had always hunted together, trained together… even mated with the same females…. It did not matter… but now things were different, Carly made them different. Nei'hin could see it in his brother's eyes. Setg was not going to share and was devoted to her. Even when she was unconscious, Setg spent as much time possible with her. It was clear to Nei'hin, he needed to get away and find himself and choosing to become an Arbitrator felt like the right choice. Away from the clan and away from his brother, he could seek his own glory. But now as he was setting off to his first duty, he felt cool, like he was beneath the surface, ready to burst through, to feel free. Setting the ship on to autopilot, Nei'hin continued reading the details on the rogues more deeply; he wanted to make sure he knew what he was going against.

As they flew through space, the computer started to beep, informing him that he had arrived at the solar system out of the range of any scanners. Activating the cloaking device and scanners, he made his way slowly through the system, searching for any engine signatures of an Yuatjan ship. He did not want to alert them of his presence. It was some time after that his scanner picked up the rogue's ship and brought it up on the screen before him. Nei'hin clicked his mandibles thoughtfully. It wasn't a war ship but a freighter; and a rather large one as well. The freighter was orbiting a nearby planet which Nei'hin scanned the planet for any Yuatja in case they had made camp but none was found. Leaning back in his chair, something felt off about this. _Four bad bloods alone on a massive freighter?_ He pulled up their files again. Everything was noted on their files right up to their fall from grace, their shady past was just notes from witnesses of their ill deeds. The worst of their deeds was gathering humans and senselessly killing them for trophies not gaining them through honorable means. _What are they doing with a freighter? _The question stalked him. He scanned the ship and it confirmed life forms. Many life forms, but the reading was corrupted, the thick walls of the freighter making the scan incomprehensible. The ship was operational but appeared unmanned. Yet there was life.

He decided to move in closer, to see if his ship's presence would alert them. The freighter was without weapons so they could not attack him and he could easily tow their ship back to clan territory if needed and have the clan's Elders deal with them… But nothing... The freighter hung in space unmoving.

Maybe they were not aware of his presence. Looking back at the scan it said there were about 20 life forms but the rogue ship's computer should have alerted them by now, his ship was now close enough… He decided to open a communication line… nothing again. Maybe it was a trap to lure him on board, to capture and kill him.

Assuming the worst that it would be 20 Yuatja warriors, he kitted out for the worst. The main weapons he selected were the two shoulder mounted cannons, wrist blades, a net shooter and his butterfly blades. Standing at the hatch, he controlled the ship to connect to the freighter's exterior hatch. Adjusting his helmet before sealing it, he flicked through the available visual channels, all perfect. He checked the pressure of the hatch doors before opening them and proceeded ahead. On a last minute whim, he changed the locking code on the doors to his biorhythm. If he was destroyed, then the ship will blow up taking everyone with him.

The ship's hallways were empty and dark… soft creaking echoing through her alleyways. There appeared to be an internal power issue and found that the doors had to be manually opened… As he continued he found signs of a fight; torn bulkheads and exposed hull... Continuing through the ship the lack of activity of any kind puzzled him…. _where could the crew be? _A thought creeps into his head. Dismissing it, he continues his way to the cockpit of the freighter to see if the crew had locked themselves within. As he stalks down the hallway, the damage continues all up to the cockpit doors; his scanner actively searching for _anything_.

The doors were jammed closed. Wedging the doors open, the cockpit was empty. Signs of a fight and damage to the ships computer had caused the problems. Closing the doors behind him, he starts to restore the computer. Sitting in the pilot's seat he waited while the computer came back online, Nei'hin was thinking about the situation. Lost in thought, a soft beep from the freighter distracted him; indicating that it was now working. Nei'hin connected his own computer to the ships' and uploaded the layout and access via remote. He had basic control now, activating the lighting controls but kept the doors on manual with notification indicators on when they opened. Reading the maps, all doors indicated that they were closed and had remained so for some time except for the doors he came through. Finding no freight log, he looked at the ships' power consumption. It had a freezer access which was drawing a bit of power, but nowhere as much as the ships' hold. _What would be in there?_ He tried accessing any sentries that would allow him to see within but everything was broken.

A red light started flashing on the monitor displaying the freezer room status, it was losing power slowly. Nei'hin accessed the sentry for the freezer room and could see within the room that there were four cryobeds, three indicated a failure and one was working and awakening its occupant, though it would take some time for them to recover from hibernation. Another light flashed; bright green this time on the monitor for the hold. Someone had programmed it to notify the pilot when the hold had reached a certain temperature… a temperature of minus 50 degrees! Well below freezing level. _What needed to be frozen that was so large that it took up the whole of the ship's hold?_

Using the ships scanners, he rescans for a correct total of life forms. Now reading 25, he finds this quizzical. He tries to get the computer to locate the crew but the computer reads errors. He assumes that 25 of the crew, 4 of which are rogues and one of them is awakening in the cryochamber. Something wasn't adding up. After taking one last look around the cockpit, he forcibly opens the doors and leaves.

He moves through the alleys of the ship silently, ever alert for the Yuatja. According to his map, the hold is on his way to the cryochamber. After endlessly walking through the corridors he approaches the area that should lead him to the hold. Gazing at his map to confirm, the door he stands in front of is the entrance to the hold. It would be freezing conditions in there and he can feel the chill emanating from the door. It wasn't frozen solid yet, so could be open safely without shattering. As he pushes the door open, the grinning face of the deadly Queen alien leers inches away, her lips trembling…


	2. Chapter 2

The Queen's lips trembling… slowly oozed saliva, dripping from her maw… A soft hiss whispers to him…

"Ci-jit!" Nei'hin falling back; butterfly blades instantly in his hands, both cannons already targeting the Queen's massive crowned head. _What the pauk? _

Readying himself,he waited for her massive head to come through the doorway, to try the first strike, to see what her range was. Stepping back again slightly, he waited. She did not move, her lips trembling with every breath. Nei'hin moved closer. So this is why the hold is a massive freezer. She was in deep sleep, hibernating. What he didn't want, was his warm body alerting her of his presence. Inching forward he peers through behind her. The hold had become a hive. The doorway being too small; had not allowed her to leave while attached to her throne, but her warriors had. He could see the crew cocooned behind her, woven onto spires stretching up to the ceiling. Eggs scattered everywhere, in different states of growth. He slowly scanned the room. He could see a few soldiers curled around the cocooned hosts whose chests had exploded open, their parasite gone… Nei'hin gripped his blade handles tighter… The dead were Yuatja….

Nei'hin closed the doors slowly and sealed them. _Pauk! _He swore softly. The Queen was superior opponent, agile beyond her massive frame, her terrible motherly instinct and animalistic rage only made her unpredictable, a true test of a warrior's skill. He wished he had the chance to hunt her but another time and place…. . And as long as the temperature held out, she wasn't going anywhere. All he hoped was that when the room froze over, that all her warriors where in there with her. _The queen would not hibernate by herself; it would have left her exposed…. But she would leave a few scouts... soldiers… to make sure she wouldn't be attacked…. _ His heart sank lower, the hosts where Yuatja… meaning her warriors would have taken on the genetic material… the strengths of the Yuatja and would be as formidable as her and in a more convenient size to move through the small alleyways of the ship. _Pauk! _A more curious thought had come to him... _He had been on the ship already for some time, why haven't they revealed themselves? He was in the presence of the Queen and yet none had come to her side?_ Perhaps any survivors had killed them? Nei'hin suspected his questions would be answered in the cryochamber.

Displaying the map again, he looks for the route to the cryochamber. It wasn't too far away. But it was close to the hold and there were too many vents and intersections to get ambushed at. Nei'hin moved stealthily through the guts of the ship towards the cryochamber careful of the dangers that may hide in the shadows. He was getting disappointed now. His first mission as Arbitrator, with hard meat waiting to strike somewhere from the shadows but nowhere to be found…. Nei'hin snorted… he wanted to hunt.

Running now, he felt time was against him… With possible soldiers on the loose, any survivors would be easy targets. He turned down another corridor, then another… just as he approached the twisted metal opening that used to be the door of the cryochamber , three young hard meat, born from Yuatja hosts was crawling towards him on the walls, although not fully grown to their forms, it made them faster, agile, weaving amongst the exposed damaged walls. Not faltering his steps, he continued running towards the chambers torn opening, his computer picking out two of the soldiers and picking them off with his shoulder cannons. Just as the third one leaps towards him, butterfly blades swished through the air, slicing it in midflight, its twisted form landing on the floor with a gooey thud as Nei'hin didn't even bother looking back as he ran through the cryo doors. As he did, the occupant of the bed sat up lazily; too lethargic in his movements as the long sleep had effected his co-ordination. His eyes widened and mandibles flared with anger and Nei'hin brought up both blades, threatening to cut his head off.

Something caught Nei'hin's eyes... Facehuggers… dead ones… curled up near the feet of the beds. Of the 4 beds, 3 were destroyed, including the occupants sleeping inside… the beds had been torn open from the inside out… meaning that those little bastards had gotten in and made them hosts… that the young had been born already. Nei'hin approached the rogue's bed closer… Nei'hin guessed that they may have been the ones he killed in the corridor that had just emerged nearby. He eyed the fully awake rogue suspect that he may be carrying a parasite also.

Looking closer to the rogue, Nei'hin recognized this was Veedar; distinguishable by the scar running down the left of his cheek, just below the eye. Nei'hin glances around, this was a bad place to be, still close to the hold and Veedar had no weapons or armor on him. Hell, his face wasn't even covered either. Just wearing some rag clothing barely covering his black red hide, his muscular upper body exposed.

"We have to leave now, there may be more hard meat nearby" he hissed.

"Why do you assume I am going to come with you so easily?" Veedar hisses back.

Nei'hin growled back, "If you don't move, you will be joining them soon…" pointing at the beds. Nei'hin cast a quick glance to the other occupants' faces. They were the rogues he was looking for… He recognized one as Veedar's own brother.

Veedar's golden eyes narrowed… "Then kill me now, are you not Arbitrator?" Nei'hin nodded responding "I have questions I need to ask you…"

Veedar smiled… "So you need me alive? Well go pauk yourself then, I rather die here"... Spitting at him.

Nei'hin's fist connected with Veedar's smiling mouth… no longer smiling, Veedar growled loudly. This time, Nei'hin slapped him, to belittle him.

"Idiot, we are on a ship full of Yuatja hosted hard meat warriors and you make such a noise… I should kill you now, to hell with you." Nei'hin trained his cannons on him. For a rogue who knows the penalty is death for his dishonor, he was making it too easy…. _Like he wanted to take his answers to the grave._ Nei'hin clicked his mandibles and smiled back, an idea coming to his mind.

"I'm going now… You can wait here and become a host to these parasites in your under garments and die with your guts and ribs splayed over the bulkhead like your brother over there or maybe you can pull your head out of your ass and come with me and maybe you might live… if your answers pleases me…"

Veedar holds back a remark and looks at his brother; his face softens as he moves closer to his brother… Leaning forward he closes his brother's eyes and prays that maybe the gods will forgive him…

Nei'hin whispers… "He lived as a rogue…. He will dance with the black warrior and be judged…There is no hope for him now….. But if you die with honor… and I mean enough to cover you and your brother's stupidity, perhaps you can wipe his slate clean in the afterlife… providing I don't kill you first for being a turd…." Nei'hin gave him something to think about. Veedar's weak spot had always been his brother. He had learnt through reading their files that many of his actions were due to his younger brother and how Veedar always covered for him. Perhaps now, he could salvage something from him… he used to be an honorable hunter, skilled and agile but when his brother came into the picture, he changed.

Veedar sat quietly…. "What do you want me to do?" his voice quiet, humbled.

Nei'hin smiled; he finally got through that thick skull. "We need to go back to the cockpit of this hulking death trap and download as much of your ship's data on what happened while you were catching your beauty sleep. Then we destroy the ship". Veedar nodded.

Nei'hin grabbed him by the dreads and pulled him in close… "And if you try some stupid ci-jit, I'm going to push you out the airlock". He pushed him away. Veedar looked at him angrily. Turning back to look at his brother briefly, "farewell my brother, I will seek you out in the hereafter…" Nei'hin headed out the doors and towards the hold, Veedar following close behind.

_Something is off. Something feels all wrong about this._

The computer on his arm flashed red and brought up the layout of the ship, showing him which doors were opening… breached…. Something was awake. And moving through the ship… not directly at them at first, but from the display of the opening and closing of doors, it must have picked up their scent and started towards them. Nei'hin routed another path to the cockpit.

"We must move fast, there are many coming…" Nei'hin growled at Veedar. Veedar cursed back, "and what am I meant to use?"

"I'm thinking on it…." Nei'hin shouts back as he runs through the halls.

Running through the halls, Veedar shouts out to Nei'hin ahead of him, "There is a small weapons store nearby…" Nei'hin nods… He didn't want to give Veedar a weapon, but he thought about it and having another hunter would greatly help him… especially against the unknown number of soldiers. Continuing down the halls, the map continuously updating the door movement; the opening of doors were now random, as if the hive was becoming awake.

Making it to the armory, Nei'hin pulls Veedar in and closes the door before locking the doors. The map showed the hive was on their heels, moments away. From the armory, the computer found another route to the cockpit. Nei'hin hissing at Veedar as the map showed more doors opening towards them closer each time, "Gear up and let's go!".

Veedar grabbed simple chest plating strapping it on. Nei'hin grabbed small shoulder cannon, nowhere near as strong as his own and rammed it onto Veedar's shoulder armor mount. Veedar continued with wrist mounted blades and a small curved shield, the end tapering into a sharp blade, used for tight quarter combat. Nei'hin sees Veedar with the shield and snorts… "What are you going to do with that ancient piece? It's useless against them!"

Veedar raises his brow in response…."This has been in our clan for generations….. _My_ former clan" a sigh escapes him. Nei'hin gives him a suspicious look…._Veedar's brother really pauked it up for him._ Veedar grabbed his face mask and was just about to put it on when Nei'hin grabs it out of Veedar's claws. The construction was curious. It fully enclosed the mandibles as standard with a small curved tusk mounted on the left side, but it had only one eyepiece, for the right eye side that wasn't scarred, leaving the scarred eye and the crest of the head exposed. The laser sights were also mounted on the right hand side. It was curious work, made more out of love then from a professional armorer. Nei'hin handed it back to him. Veedar grudgingly took it back looking Nei'hin squarely in the eyes. "My left eye is scarred, so the vision isn't perfect, but the computer targeting and effects completely ruin my vision in both eyes. So I only have the targets in the one lens." Nei'hin nods slightly…"Ready then?"… Veedar nods.

Opening the other door, they ran down the hallways, soldiers now approaching through another entrance. Nei'hin turned his head back slightly to see if Veedar was far behind as he no longer heard the rogue's footsteps behind him. As his head turned, an alien flew at him, knocking Nei'hin to the floor, the wind punched out of him. Nei'hin heard Veedar roared as he charged into the alien, pushing it back with his shield, before maneuvering the shield's blade to slice through the neck of the alien in one swift action. Turning to Nei'hin he offered his hand to him. Nei'hin grabbed his hand and Veedar yanked him up to his feet. Nei'hin nodded to him with a renewed respect before continuing down the hallway towards the cockpit.

As they ran through, the soldiers chased them through the hallways. Nei'hin pulled out his net caster and dropped back a bit behind Veedar. Stopping suddenly and turning on his heel, he shot the net wide to cover the hall entrance behind him before continuing on. The first of the soldier aliens running into the net, slicing through their bodies, 2 more ramming behind the first, also cutting into the net.

Reaching the cockpit, Nei'hin pushed open the doors, now struggling with the effort. Cursing, he must have been more winded then he thought. Veedar seeing the hall was clear for the moment, rushed to Nei'hin pulling the doors wide both tumbling inside. As Veedar pushed the doors closed, the head of a warrior pushed its way through, its inner mouth snapping within inches of Veedar's head. Nei'hin rammed the doors closed, slicing the head off, its acidic blood slowly melting away the doors. Nei'hin turned back to the computer and found Veedar already accessing the data and uploading to his own computer. Nei'hin decided that maybe Veedar was hoping to bargain with him for the data. Nei'hin looking through the newly formed hole from the alien's blood, he could see more approaching from the distance.

Veedar kicked through the doors, "Which way to your ship?" Nei'hin ran off down another hallway towards his ship. As much as he wanted to collect a few trophies, he had this mission to complete.


End file.
